Whiz Reviews

Google readily admits that its Nexus One customer support at launch was lacking. However, the Goog says that it's committed to improving the experience as it blazes a path into the world of consumer handset sales. Today, more than a month since the launch of the Nexus One, Google is offering owners access to a real live person via 888-48NEXUS (63987). The new support line is operational from 07:00am to 10:00pm PST and augments Google's support forums, FAQs and email support. Unfortunately, Google's live support line seems limited to status and shipping issues -- for live tech support you'll still have to call either HTC customer care number or T-Mobile depending upon the issue. And of course, the whole thing changes if you're an international user. As convoluted as it all sounds, an unamed Google spokesperson still claims that "live phone support from Google, combined with an optimized on-line support experience, enables a superior Nexus One customer experience." Sure it does: the average consumer just loves looking through on-line forums and FAQs to solve issues before picking up the phone to complain.

[Thanks, Phil L.]

Google starts live phone support for Nexus One owners originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back at CES, we were pretty excited to get our hands on Notion Ink's far out, Pixel Qi display-boasting reader, Adam. Well, Notion Ink is on the move, and encouraging development for the Tegra-powered little devil is apparently a top priority. The company has unveiled plans to hold an App Competition with one million dollars in prize money for the development of Adam-compatible software. There are no final details about the contest yet, but we think we'll probably be hearing more about it next week at MWC. Slashgear's got some interesting renders Notion Ink sent over which give us an idea of what a final production model might look like -- and it's definitely different than the prototype we saw in Las Vegas. The company also told Slashgear that it's considering having two retail versions of the Adam -- but has only said that one might measure 12.9mm thick, and the other 11.6mm thick -- so we're not sure what other differences might be in tow. We'll let you know when we hear more details about that million dollar prize money, though.

Notion Ink to have competition to encourage development for Adam reader, might release two versions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inkless / tonerless printers aren't exactly new, but here's a more novel approach: inkless, tonerless, and completely reusable. The PrePeat rewritable printer is exactly that: using special paper made of PET plastic, you can make all the flowcharts and meeting notes you need, and when you want to start fresh, feed the paper back in to start fresh. Upfront cost is 500,000 yen (about $5,600 in US) for the printer and 300 yen for each sheet, in lots of 1,000 -- which we're taking to mean at least another 300,000 yen / $3,360 to get some use out of it. Each piece of paper is said to work about 1,000 times, but no word on how much (if any) history can be extracted from the materials -- just keep that in mind should sensitive information be your daily trade. Video demonstration after the break.

Continue reading PrePeat rewritable printer lets you undo print jobs, no ink or toner used

PrePeat rewritable printer lets you undo print jobs, no ink or toner used originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Dragon and friends turn up on Dopod roadmap originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dear Nokia fan clinging on to all hope that the 5230 and Nuron were two separate entities, whereby you'd have even more Espoo devices to look forward to: you're wrong. TmoNews has picked up what's purported to be another internal T-Mobile documentation for the 5230 Nuron. Like the previously-rumored leak, it's said to be going on sale on March 17 with a 3.2-inch touchscreen, on-screen keyboard, and Ovi Store. Oh, and just in case you weren't sure if you fit the target audience, see if you qualify as "connected socializers, 20 to 40 years old, who are new to the touch screen category." That's gotta count for at least a few readers out there.

[Thanks, Alex]

Nokia Nuron spotted again, connection to 5230 cemented? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We'll admit to not being leading the field of study in Best Buy-ology, but here comes a new quiz for us care of a tipster who sent TUAW a screenshot of the inventory screen that shows what looks to be the current MacBook Pro SKU with status: deleted. What that means is no new orders can be made for that unit, at least for that particular store. Sign of impending MBP refresh? Intel certainly had us riled up last month with that Core i5-infused flier, but we won't get fooled again. Don't hold your breath for this one, but if more telltale signs start popping up, we'll be sure let ya know.

Update: Giving credit where due; the image originates from the MacRumors forums.

[Thanks, Jose R]

Current MacBook Pro SKU given mark of death in Best Buy database? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We won't front -- there's little chance we'd actually use JXD's V3 handheld, but it's not for lack of interest. This here PMP / game player hybrid isn't apt to leave the shores of Asia, but for those in that neck of the woods, this unit offers up emulators for a slew of game consoles, a 4.3-inch display, a 5 megapixel camera and plenty of file format support to handle your favorite music and video. Reportedly, the device even features an FM radio tuner, and in case you're curious as to why there are two D-pads on this thing, it's because you'll need 'em to get through certain Game Boy / NES titles. Or so they say. We can't say we're stoked about the $112 price tag, but in a way, we're kind of in love with the whole flip-top design.

JXD V3 handheld is confused, confusing and altogether interesting originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA pursuing external graphics accelerators for laptops? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netflix Watch Instantly fans could be due for a big upgrade, as CNET has heard the company will roll out 1080p and 5.1 surround sound later this year. No word on timing or any other details, but this could mean its moving to version 3 of Microsoft's Silverlight streaming platform with its additional tweaks for adaptive streaming and hardware graphics acceleration. Also unknown is how much bandwidth would be necessary, but considering Microsoft already uses very similar technology for its 1080p Instant On videos on Zune Marketplace through the Xbox 360 while only requiring 3 Mbps and VUDU HDX 1080p videos only state a minimum of 4500 Kbps, a massive jump in available bandwidth might not be necessary if you already get clear 720p video. The last big hurdle? How much content will be available that way, Gizmodo points out only about 6 percent of current offerings stream in HD we'll be watching carefully if the pace picks up going forward.

Update: Netflix pinged CNET to let them know that 1080p was mistakenly included on a roadmap of 2010 features, however if you can get over missing all those extra pixels, surround sound and closed captioning are definitely booked for an appearance later this year.

1080p, 5.1 surround sound coming to Netflix Watch Instantly in 2010? Update: No, yes (and closed captioning) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After Microsoft stated a week ago that it would look into reports of Windows 7 causing premature battery degradation, we've been staying up late at night with our frazzled lithium ion cells, reading them stories about Battery Heaven and generally trying to keep an upbeat tone around the Engadget HQ. Well, it turns out not everything is rosy in batteryville, but Microsoft says Windows 7 isn't the one to blame. According to the company's testing, the new tool, which reports when a battery is down to 40% of its designed capacity and suggests replacement, hasn't reported a single false positive. Additionally, the tool uses read-only data from the battery, and is in fact incapable of tweaking the battery's life span or internal data -- it merely reports the data it receives, and stacks the theoretical design capacity up against the current full charge capacity. Microsoft attributes the reports of the tool dooming batteries to an early grave to the mere fact that many people might not have noticed the degradation already taking place in their batteries -- most batteries start to degrade noticeably within a year. Of course, not everybody's going to just take Microsoft's word for it, and Microsoft itself will continue to look into the issue, but for now this sounds like a bit of a non-issue. The part about Windows 7 being less conservative with power use is a whole 'nother issue, of course.

Microsoft says Windows 7 battery 'issue' isn't one originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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